Mixing machine for viscous and granular materials



lJune 3 1930. J. E. JOHNSON MIXING /MAGHINE FOR VISCOUS AND GRANULARMATERIALS l Filed July 25, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l June 3, 1930. J. E.JOHNSON 1,760,906

' MIXING MACHINE FOR VISCOUS AND GRANULAR MATERIALS Filed July 23, 19283 Shee' .s-Sh :erl 2 f4 ngz.

June 3, 1930. J. E. JOHNSON 1,760,906

MIXING MACHINE FOR Viscous AND GRANULAR MATERIALS Filed July 23, 1928 3Sheets-Sheet 3 I N VEN T00 Jon/v E. rfa/m50. 5f /f/5l fina/MEX;

Patented June 3, 1930 lParri-:N'r OFFICE JOHN E. JOHNSON, OF LITCHFIELD,MINNESOTA MIXING MACHINE FOR VISCOUS AND GRANULAR MATERIAVLS Applicationled July 23, 1928. Serial No. 294,707.

This invention relates to machines for mixing viscous liquids withgranular materials' and it relates particularly to such a machine, Whereby molasses can be mixed with gram 5 to be used for feed purposes. f

It is the object of this invention to provide a novel and improvedmachine for mixing molasses or similar viscous liquid with grain orsimilar granular material, whereby a thorough and efficient mixture maybe cheaply and readily obtained without necessitating the heating of theviscous liquid.

To this end, the invention consists in the novel parts and novelcombinations of parts hereinafter defined in the claims, and describedin the following specification, made in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similarparts throughout the various views and, in which,

Fig. 1 is a view in end elevation of the machine, looking towards-therear end of the machine;

, Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the maas shown in Fig. 1;certain of the parts being broken away to more clearly show theconstruction thereof;

Fig. 3 is avertical section taken on the line n 3 3 of Fig. 2, as isindicated by the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on the line v4 4 of Fig. 2,.as isindicated by the arrows;l

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 5 5 of Fig.1, as is indicated by the arrows, certain of the parts being brokenaway, and

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5, as isindicated by the arrows.'

v tion, and extending transversely between the.

longitudinal bars 9 are a pair of channel bars 10 adjacent thevforwardend of the frame, and a pair of cross bars 11 adjacent the rear end ofthe frame. A substantially horizontally extending cylindrical drum 12 issupchine 'looking at the right side of the machine i ported by suitablebrackets 13 on the upper cross bars 8 of the frame, so that the drumextends longitudinally of the frame. The drum 12 carries suitablebearings 14 and 15'at its forward and rear ends respectively, and asquare shaft 16 centrally disposed in the drum 12 has rounded portionsat its ends which are journaled within the bearings .14 and 15. Theshaft 16 projects forwardly from the drum 12 and has a pulley 17 securedto its forwardly projecting portion. The drum 12 at its upper sideadjacent its forward end is provided with a substantially square opening12a and a slotted opening 12". The slotted opening 12b is disposedsubstantially centrally of the upper side of the drum, asis best shownin Fig. 3, while the opening 12a is disposed at one side 'of the centerofthe upper surface ofthe drum. A casting 18 fits over the openings 12,aand 12b at the rear upper side of the drum 12 and the casting is boltedor'otherwise secured to the drum. A reinforcing rod 19 may also be usedfor firmly positioning the casting in place and the rod is illustratedas running through 'the casting and through the brackets 13 securing thedrum to the frame, The .casting 18 may be -considered as comprising asmall cylindrical portion 18a joined to a large casing portion 18b bymeans of an arcuate web 18 which ts against the central top portion ofthe drum 12, a small web 18i 'which extends horizontally and a verticalweb 18 which forms a portion of the rear wall of. the casting. Thelcylindrical portion 18a has a horizontally disposed 'cylindrical boretherein which extends parallel to the shaft 16 and within this bore isdisposed a tube 20 open at both ends, and having an enlargement at. itsrear end forming a small chamber 20a. The enlarged por- 9 tion at therear end of the tube 20 formsshoul- `ders which abut the rear side ofthe cylindrical portion 18, while the forward end of' the tube 20 isclosed by a cap 21 screw threaded on to the tube. A slot 1 8t extendsverti- 95 Y cally downwardly through the cylindrical portion 18a and theweb 18c to communicate with the slotted opening 12b in the drum 12. Thetube 20 has .a slot 20b cut through its lower wall inwardly from therear end of the casting 18 land this slot 20b is `in alinement with theslots 18 and 12b. A sleeve 22 ts within the bore of the tube 20 and isclosed at its forward end by a plug 23 carrying a stud 24 which fitsthrough the cap 21 and acts as a pivot for rotation of the sleeve 22.The stud 24 and plug 23 are held in the sleeve 22 as by means of a shortpin 25. Two nuts 26 on the outer end of the stud 24 jam against eachother and prevent the removal of the sleeve from the tube 20. The sleeve22 has a slot 22a cut through its bottom wall and this slot is adaptedto be alined with the slot 20". Small holes 22b are cut through thewalls of the sleeve 22 to afford communication between the chamber 20aand the interior of the sleeve. A nut 27 screw threaded in the rear endof sleeve 22 forms a packing nut for closingv the rear end of the tube20 and carries an arm 28 projecting upwardly therefrom, and bent atright angles adjacent its upper end to lit over the top edge of the web18e. The web 18e is segment-shaped relative to the axis about which` thesleeve 22 mayturn, and has a projecting linger 18g at its left upperend, as viewed in Fig. 1, to limit the movement of the rod 28. The upperedge of the web 18e is notchedto form graduati'ons which will indicaterelative alinement between the slots 22a and 20b of the sleeve and thetube respectively.

As is illustrated in Fig. 1, a tank 29 is provided at one Vside of theframe holding the drum 12 and this tank will be used as a supply tankfor molasses or other viscous liquid to be used during the operation ofthe machine, A conduit 30 runs upwardly from the tank 29 and isconnected to a rotary pump 31 which, in` turn, discharges to a conduit32 running upwardly to a molasses meter 33. The meter33 is of standardconstruction and will register the amount of molasses or other viscousliquid running through the conduit 32. The conduit 32 extends upwardlyfrom the molasses meter. and is connected by a `suitable coupling at itsupper end to the enlarged outer portion of the tube 20 so that theliquid carried by the conduit will be admitted to the chamber 2Oa whenthe pump 31 is in operation. A pressure gauge 34 is interposed in theconduit 32 at a suitable point to indicate the pressure of the'liquid inthe conduit. A downward extension 35 projects from the conduit 32downwardly from adjacent the discharge point of the pump 31 to the topof the tank 29 and the extension 35 is providedwith a control valve 36which is adapted to open or close the extension.

With the construction thus far described, it will be apparent that whenthe valve 36 is lclosed and the pump 31 is set in operation,

that molasses or other viscous liquid held within the tank 29 will beforced upwardly through the conduit 30, through the pump 31, through theconduit 32 and molasses meter 33 to -the chamber 20, whereupon wlien thehandle 28 is swung so that the slots 22a and 20h are alined, or are inpartial alinement, the molasses or lother liquid willNrun through theopenings 22h into the interior of the sleeve 22, whereupon the molasseswill be discharged.

in a narrow ribbon through the slots 22a and 20h and ldownwardly throughthe opening 18h secured thereto which is adapted to bedrivenfrom anysource of power by means of the `belt'39 lor by other suitable means. Awheel 40 secured to the shaft- 37 works within the cylindrical portionof the casing and is provided with two sides 40a, a cylindrical drumlike portion 40b radially'spaced outwardly from the center of the shaft37 and a plurality of radial wings 40c which extend between the sides40a outwardly from the cylindrical portion 40h. The win s 40cco-operat-l ing with the sides 40a, and t `e outer surface of thecylindrical portion 40h, will form a series of compartments for pickingup and distributing grain or other granular material which may be throwninto the hopper 18h. Grain is adapted to be carried by the saidcompartments downwardly from the hopper to a passage 1'8k which projectsdownwardly below the cylindrical portion of the casing portion 18b andcommunicates with the interior of the drum 12, through the opening 12aadjacent the'forward end thereof. The grain or other material will vthusbe charged into the drum at one side of the point where the molasses orsimilar viscous material is charged into the same. It should be herenoted that the length of the Aopenings 12a and 12b longitudinally of thedrum 12 are the same.

The square shaft 16 has a plurality of radial rods 41 secured thereto.Each of these rods are screw threaded at their inner ends and projectthrough openings provided inV the shaft 16 and are h'eld thereon by nuts42, one of wihch is placed at either side of the shaft. The rods 41 arelongitudinally spaced 1 in their action on the material held within.l

the drum 12 from the forward end of the drum to the forward end thereof.

At its rear end, the drum 12 is provided with a discharge opening 12cand as is best illustrated in Fig. 4, this opening is formed at thelower left quadrant of the rear end `of the drum. Guides 43 are securedto the rear end of the drum at either side of the -opening 12e, andmounted within these. guides is a plate 44 having secured thereto anoperating rod 45, which projects upwardly through a collar 46 secured tothe'rear end of the drum above the opening 12. A set screw 47, screwthreaded within the collar-'45, is adapted to act on the rod to hold theplate 44 in a desired position projecting upwardly from the bottom ofthe opening. The discharge port of the drum formed by the opening 12cand plate 44 can, therefore, be controlled by operation of the rod 45and the set screw 47. A casing 48 secured to the rear end of the drum 12fits over the discharge port and projects downwardly therefrom, and isconnected, in turn, to a second casing 49 which leads into the centralportion of a blower casing 50 suitably supported by brackets 51 from theforward cross bars 11. A blower shaft 52 is suitably journaled withinthe.

blower casing 50 and carries a blower fan 53 within the casing 50. Theblower casing 50 4has a tangential discharge port to which a pipe 54 issecured, which pipe may be carried to any point where it is desired todischarge the mixed material, such for example, as a loading platform orelevator, (not illustrated). The fan 53 will act to assist the rods 41in drawing the mixture of granular material and viscous liquid throughthe drum 12 and casings 48 and 49. VTo regulate the pressure exerted bythe fan 53, a suitable damper is provided in the casing 48. While this damper may be variably formed, in the 1llustrated drawings, itis shown asconsisting of guide strips 55 mounted on the rear side of the casing 48at either side of an air admis# sion opening 48a. mounted within theguide strips 55 and has a slot in its central portion through which astud 57, carrying a. wing nut 58, projects. By loosening wing nut 58 andby raising or lowering the plate 56, the opening 48a may be more or lessopened to vary the amount of air that may be admitted through theopenings 48a to the casing 48, and to the fan 53. Accordingly, the draftof air caused by the vfan through the drum 12 may be varied byregulation of the damper in the casing 48.

A motor bracket 59 of angular shape and having an arcuate web at oneside thereof, is

mounted on the forward cross bars 10 of the frame. Slots are provided inthe baseportion of the bracket 59 and nutted bolts 60 extending throughthe bars 10 project through the slots `in the base. Studs 61 projectout- A plate 56 is slidablyl wardly from the corner of the bracket 59through the vertical flanges of the right longitudinal bar 9, as viewedin Fig. 2, and these studs carry nuts at the outer sides of the bar 10.It will be seen' that by looseningv the nutted bolts and the nuts on thestuds 61 that the bracket 59 may be laterally adjusted relative to theframe carrying the drum 12. A motor 62 having arms 63 secured thereto ismounted on vertical bars 64 by means of bolts 65 which project throughthe arms 63 and the bars 64, and also through vertical slots 59a` cut inthe vertical side of motor bracket 59. The bolts 65 are provided withnuts at the outer side of the bracket 59. The bars 64 are benthorizontally at their upper ends and studs 66 extend through thehorizontally bent portions of the bars and also through outwardlyprojecting lugs 59b adjacent the upper end of the vertlcal side of themotor bracket 59. These lugs have openings which are screw threaded toreceive studs 66. At either side of the horizontal portions of the bars64, the studs 66 have nuts 67 whichbear against thel bars. It vwill beseen that by 'loosening the nuts carried on the bolts 65, and byloosening the nuts 67 and by turning the studs 66 that the motor 62 andbars 64 can be raised or lowered respective to the motor bracket 59. Themotor, therefore, is capable of adjust-ment vertically and transverselyof the frame.

The motor has a motor shaft 68 which projects both forwardly andrearwardly from the motor proper and carries at its forward end a pulley69, and at its rear end a pulley 70. A belt 71 runs over the pulleys 69and 17, while a belt 72 runs over the pulley 7 0 and also over a' pulley73 secured to the forward end of the blower shaft 52. By properadjustment of the motor vertically and laterally of the frame, the belts71 and 72 can be properly tensioned so that both the shaft 16 and thefan shaft 52 may be driven from the motor.

In operation, grain or similar material will be fed into the hopper 18h,while molasses or similar viscous liquid will be fed under pressurethrough the pipe 32 into the sleeve 22. The molasses or similar viscousmaterial may be charged into the sleeve 22 in cold state if so desired.The quantity of viscous liquid used will be shown by the molasses meter33, while the pressure under which the viscous liquid is carriedupwardly to the sleeve 22 will be indicated by the pressure gauge 34. Bymanipulation of the rod 28, the valve formed by the tube 20 and thesleeve 22 may be so adjusted that a desired quantity of molasses orsimilar viscous liquid may be charged into the drum 12 at the same timethat a desired quantity of grain or similar granular material is chargedinto the drum through the hopper 18h and by means of the wheel 40 whichwill be rotated by means of the power applied to the .belt 39., Themolasses will be discharged into the drum in a thin ribbon which is ofthe same length longitudinally of the drum as the mass of grain chargedinto the drum through the opening 12a. The shaftJ 16 will berotated inthe direction as indicated by the lower arrow Fig. 3, when the motor 62is in operation and, accordingly, the rods 41 at the forward end of theshaft 16,will'iirst strike the molasses and carry the same downwardlyand to the right, as indicated in Fig. 3, into the mass of grain as itis discharged into the drum. The molasses, accordingly, will almostimmediately upon its entrance into the drum be mixed with the grainbefore the molasses has an opportunity to run down wardly to the bottomof the drum, and accumulate there. As the shaft 16 continues to rotate,successive arms `41 rearwardly of the forward end of the shaft willstrike the grain and molasses and will more thoroughly admix the sameand will at the same time advance the mixture rearwardly to a positionwhere other successive rearward arms 41 will strikathe same. When themachine is first set in operation, the operating rod 45, controlling themovement of the plate 44, will be so set that the opening 12c will bealmost entirely closed. Also the plate 56 controlling the opening 48awill be preferably lowered so that a large quantity of air can besupplied to the blower 53 through, the opening 48a, thereby preventingthe blower from exerting much force to pull the mixture through the drum12. When sufficient grain and molasses have been admitted to the drum 12so that the drum is'approximately half filled with the mixture, theoperating rod 45 will 'be lowered to open the'discharge port at therear'end of the drum and at the same time the plate 56 will be raised toalmost completely close the opening 48B. The mixture of grain andmolasses will thus be discharged from-the discharge port at the rear endof the drum into the casing 48, whereupon the same will run downwardlythrough the casing 49, to the blower casing 50 and will there be forcedupwardly by the blower to discharge through the conduit 54. The rods 41on the shaft 16 acting with the blower will force the material from thedischarge port. If for any reason the mixture is discharged from thedischarge port of the drum before it has been thoroughly admixed, 'theplate 44 can be raised by means of the rod 45 to raise the lower edge ofthe discharge port and partially close the opening 12, and also theplate 56' can be lowered to permita greater draft intov the blowerthrough the opening 48B, thereby decreasing the force vexerted by theblower in pulling the mixture through the drum. When the desiredquantity of molasses and grain or other material has been mixed and itis desired to stop the mixing lat-ing machine, the molasses or similarviscous material maybe drained from the conduit 32, through theextension 35 back into the tank 29 by merely opening the valve 36.

The machine will be used `chieiiy at feed mills or on large farms whereit is desired to Inix a largequantity of grain or similar material withmolasses or similar material for feed for stock,poultry etc. A Fordifferent kinds of stock and poultry, it is desirable to mix differentproportions of molasses with the grain. Also at different times of theyear, more or less molasses will be mixed with the feed than at othertimes of the year. With the present machine, any desiredl quantity ofmolasses or similar viscous material may be mixed with the grain orother feed used and the mixture can be made without heating the molassesor other viscous material.

The machine has been demonstrated in actual practice and has been'foundto be very successful for the purposes set forth. The machine is quitesimple in its construction and the operation thereof is easilyunderstood.

It will1of course, be understood that various changes may be made in theform, de-

tails, arrangement and proportions of the various parts withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for mixing granular material with a viscous liquid,comprising, a substantially horizontally disposed drum, a shaft mountedwithin said drum, means for rotating said shaft -in one direction, meansfor charging viscous liquid in a thin ribbon parallel to said shaft intothe forward end of said drum, means foir charging granular material intothe forward end of said drum ahead of the point where said liquid ischarged into the drum relative to the rotation of said shaft, means forreguthe quantity of viscous liquid discharged into the drum during anyinterval of time, and indicating means to show the quantity of viscousliquid being discharged into the drum.

2. A machine for mixing granular matelar material into the forward endof said drum at one side of the top of the drum, the point of dischargeofthe granular material being spaced .in the direction of rotation ofsaid shaft relative to the point of discharge of the viscous liquid, aplurality of radial arms mounted on said shaft, and means for rotatingsaid shaft so that the arms atthe forward end of the shaft will firstmove against the ribbon of viscous liquid to carry the same against thegranular material before the viscous liquor has fallen to the bottom ofthe drum, said arms being adapted to mix the liquid with the granularmaterial and to carry the mixture toward the rear end of the drum, saiddrum haring a discharge port rearward from its forward end.

3.A machine for mixing granular material with a viscous liquid,comprising a substantially horizontally disposed drum. a shaft mountedwithin said drum, means for rotating said shaft in one direction, meansat the top of said drum for charging viscous liquid in a thin ribbonparallel to said shaft, into the forward end'of said drum, means forcharging granular material into the forward end of said drum at a pointspaced slightly in the direction 0f rotation of said shaft relative tothe point of discharge of said viscous material and means on said sha-ftfor carrying the liquid as discharged into the granular material beforethe liquid falls to the bottom of the drum and for mixing the liquid andgranular material and for moving the mixture toward the rear end ofthesaid drum, the said drum having a discharge port rearwardly from itsforward end.

4. A. machine for` mixing granular material with a viscous liquid,comprising a cylindrical drum extending substantially horizontally,means for charging granular' material into the forward end of said drum,a tube mounted adjacent the rear end of .said drum and having aslottherein in communication with the said drum, a sleeve i mounted withinsaid tube and rotatable therein, and having a slot adapted to be broughtnmore or less into registry with the slot in said tube, means forsupplying viscous liquid to the interior of said sleeve, a shaftin saiddrum, means for rotating said shaft and means on said shaft adapted tofirst strike said liquid as it is charged into said drum and to carrythe liquid into the granular material charged into-the drum, to mix thetwo materials together and to carry the same toward the rear end of thedrum.

5. A. machine for mixing granularxmateria-l with a` viscous liquid,comprising a cylindrical drum extending substantially horizontally, acasing mounted at the forward end of said drum above the same and havingcommunication with said drum, means in one portion of said casing forreceiving and discharging granular material into the forward end of saiddrum, a' tube mounted in said casing in spaced relationship from saidfirst mentioned portion theresleeve, a shaft mounted in said drum, meansfor rotating said shaft, means on said shaft adapted to first strike.said liquid as it is discharged into said drum and to carry said liquidinto the granular material as it is discharged into the drum to mix thetwo materials together and to carry the same to the rear end of thedrum, a segmental block above said sleeve and an arm secured to saidsleeve and working over said segmental block, whereby said sleeve can berotated respective tosaid tube to vary the alinement of said slots andthereby regulate the supply of viscous liquid into said drum.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOHN E. JOHNSON.

of, a sleeve mounted within said tube, said

